The presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress in the 2023 general elections, Mr Dumebi Kachikwu, has expressed sadness that Nigeria has relatively nothing to gladden the citizens even after 63 years of independence.
He urged President Bola Tinubu to urgently end corruption and poverty, among other problems affecting the country.
He made this known in a goodwill message to commemorate the 63rd independence anniversary in Lagos on Sunday.
Recall that Tinubu, in his Independence Day broadcast, said he was attuned to the hardships that had come and had a heart that felt and eyes that see, saying that Nigerians should endure this trying moment.
Kachukwu said as gloom pervaded the land, Nigerians still bemoaned their lack of independence from endemic poverty, corruption, clueless leadership, lack of basic amenities and the insecurity that worsens by the day.
He decried that several years after, the words of Prof. Aluko still rang through when he said, “the poor cannot sleep because they are hungry, and the rich cannot sleep because the poor are awake and hungry”.
“On a day when Nigerians all over the world and our well-wishers are supposed to say happy Independence Day, many wonder if there is truly anything to be happy about in Nigeria or about Nigeria.
“As gloom pervades the land, Nigerians bemoan their lack of independence from endemic poverty, corruption, clueless leadership, lack of basic amenities and the insecurity that gets worse by the day.
“Many don’t know who to blame and many have resorted to self-help and shortcuts in order to survive.
“Most Nigerians were born into this state of affairs and have lived it all their lives. This is the Nigeria our fathers gave us, but I am not sure this is the Nigeria their parents gave them,” he said.
